A New Look for a New Year

When I ask Design News readers for advice on what the magazine can do to serve you better, I keep hearing the same message: Give us news of technology in a clear, fast, easy-to-read package. That's not surprising. Engineers today are very busy people. You've got more projects to complete and more technologies to track than ever before. And your biggest fear is not being able to keep up with it all. The last thing you need is an engineering magazine loaded with flat, cumbersome, jargon-ridden material.

We kept your need for easily accessible information uppermost in our minds as we planned our new redesign of the magazine, which you see for the first time in this issue. We tried for a clean, modern look with emphasis on good graphics that deliver the message fast. We think Art Director Bill Reilly did a splendid job on this redesign, and we hope you agree.

Many people tell me that they enjoy reading Design News. "We never thought that reading an engineering magazine could actually be fun" is a comment we hear often. No, you will not find long, academic-style tomes and rows of engineering formulas in Design News. We don't think you can teach engineering in a magazine. That's what engineering schools and textbooks are for. But you will find a wide variety of editorial approaches that help you stay abreast of a fast-moving field: newsletter-style pages on late-breaking developments, short case histories of successful technologies, problem/solution stories by our staff of regional engineer-editors, and much more.

The readers of Design News are true Renaissance men and women, interested in machines ranging from autos to robots and technologies from CAD/CAM to power transmission. So our job in this new year is what it has always been: To comb this far-reaching engineering landscape and alert you to significant new technologies that can make your designs better. Here's wishing you a successful 1995!

If a major catastrophe strikes your area, will you be prepared? Do you know how to modify the tech you've already got or MacGyver what you need to fit your own situation? A free, five-day Continuing Education Center course starting April 6 will show you how.

Focus on Fundamentals consists of 45-minute on-line classes that cover a host of technologies. You learn without leaving the comfort of your desk. All classes are taught by subject-matter experts and all are archived. So if you can't attend live, attend at your convenience.